The 2026 Mets And Run Prevention

In his first press conference after the 2025 season president of baseball operations David Stearns repeatedly stated that going forward run prevention would be a focus. Since then, he signed Jorge Polanco and Bo Bichette to play positions they have yet to play in the majors sparking confusion among some fans.

But what is, “run prevention?” It does not mean you need to have a gold glove defender at every position. Simply put, run prevention means allowing your opponent to score as few runs as you can. There are many ways to get there.

Defense Up the Middle

The area you want to focus the most defensively are the up the middle positions – shortstop, center field, catcher and second base. Trading for multi-gold glove winner Marcus Semien to play second base dramatically improves the Mets up the middle defense. Pairing him with Francisco Lindor, who still profiles as an above average defensive shortstop creates a dynamic duo in the infield. Francisco Alvarez and Luis Torrens are both expected to bring solid defense behind the plate. Torrens was a finalist for the Gold Glove award for the 2025 season and while Alvarez had struggles at times in 2025 with his hand injury, he has developed into an above average defensive catcher. In 2024 he ranked in the 67th percentile in fielding run value.

The recently acquired Luis Robert Jr. provides a plus-plus glove in center field, posting seven outs above average in 2025, which was in the 93rd percentile. Tyrone Taylor in 2025 rated in the 83rd percentile in outs above average last year and is capable of playing all three outfield positions. He looks to be back in the fourth outfielder role. Carson Benge took huge strides defensively last year and looking like he could profile as an above average corner outfielder or center fielder. The Mets have stated that he will come to spring training with the opportunity to win the left field job out of camp and he was already in St. Lucie as of January 22, 2026 working on drills.

Securing defense up the middle also affords the Mets the opportunity to utilize more bat first players in the corners. Juan Soto, Jorge Polanco, and Bo Bichette are impact hitters who bring some questions with them defensively. But when you have plus defense in premium spots you can take the chance to acquire difference makers in the lineup.

Moving Down the Defensive Spectrum

As mentioned above the premium defensive positions are typically considered shortstop, center field, catcher, and to an extent second base. Often players who are able to field one of those positions are capable of moving to a corner spot.

Shortstop to third base is not an uncommon transition. As mentioned in our previous breakdown, Bichette profiles as someone who you would expect could make the move to third base and potentially even be an average to good defender at the position. Will Sammon and Tim Britton of the Athletic reported that the Mets believe in bench coach Kai Correa’s ability to improve player defense and believe they have already targeted the changes Bichette needs to make. Kai Correa previously helped former Met J.D. Davis improve his third base defense with the Giants.

Jorge Polanco has not played an inning of first base in the majors but that does not mean he is not well versed in the position. Will Sammon of the Athletic reported in December 2025 that Polanco spent two months with the Mariners infield coach Perry Hill and bench coach Manny Acta learning first base. Sammon wrote, “The lessons included how to hold a runner on, how to get to the base without getting stepped on, how to position himself, how to throw to second base on a grounder using his backhand and how to get back to the bag in case a catcher made a snap throw.” Polanco’s experience at shortstop, second base, and third base should also position well to transition to first base.

Pitching Pitching and More Pitching

One of the biggest forms of run prevention is when pitchers prevent runs from scoring. The Mets’ pitching collapsed in the second half of the 2025 season and the Mets are working to address that issue. A full season of Nolan McLean in the rotation, the return of Christian Scott, an increase of innings from other young arms including Jonah Tong dramatically improves the Mets pitching depth. Many innings that were filled by journeymen and waiver claims can now be filled by them.

The Mets began addressing this with additions bullpen by signing Devin Williams and Luke Weaver. The Mets expect A.J. Minter to be able to return early in the season and they picked up the club option for Brooks Raley. Former Cubs closer Adbert Alzolay, whom the Mets signed before the 2025 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery, could be a potential impact arm in the bullpen. Internal arms including Dylan Ross and Ryan Lambert could take innings this year as could the young starters. The bullpen looks like it could have more flexibility with players like those who could be optioned alongside Huascar Brazobán. The Mets still have room to add more arms to the bullpen as well.

The biggest improvement to the Mets pitching and run prevention will likely come from the trade that sent Freddy Peralta and Tobias Myers to the Mets. Peralta will lead the front of the rotation and Myers could be a stabilizing force either in the bullpen, rotation, or a bit of both.

Improving Internal Defense

The Mets believe their players can improve. Manager Carlos Mendoza spoke at the Winter Meetings about the defensive regimen the Mets coaching staff have started with Juan Soto across the offseason and David Stearns has repeatedly stated he believes Soto can improve his defense. In 2019 and 2021 Soto was rated a plus outfield defender by outs above average. Since then he has not spent a full season in both the same position and ballpark, bouncing between three teams and alternating between left and right field. This will be Soto’s first back to back seasons in the same position and ballpark since 2021.

Marcus Semien recently worked with Brett Baty and now-traded prospect Jett Williams on their infield defense. This idea came in from discussions between Semien and Kai Correa. In the past Francisco Lindor has also worked one on one with Brett Baty and Mark Vientos.

The makeup of the team has also changed. As much as Pete Alonso and Brandon Nimmo impact the team with their bats, they were not defensive powerhouses in 2025. Jeff McNeil did show very strong defensive versatility, but per Joel Sherman of the New York Post, McNeil underwent surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome at the start of the 2026 offseason.

Final Thoughts

There are many ways to improve run prevention. The Mets believe that they are improving their defense through the changes in coaching staff, new defensive programs, and the players they have brought in. They have upgraded their pitching staff. They may also to add more players to the roster on both the offensive and pitching sides.

In the end, the goal is simple: limit how many runs your opponent can score. That, is what run prevention is all about.

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